Albert Ross Tilley, (November 24, 1904 – April 19, 1988) was a Canadian

plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their plasticity makes it possible for plastics to be moulded, extruded or pressed into solid objects of various shapes. This adaptab ...

surgeon In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...

who pioneered the treatment of burned

airmen An airman is a member of an air force or air arm of a nation's armed forces. In certain air forces, it can also refer to a specific enlisted rank. An airman can also be referred as a soldier in other definitions. In civilian aviation usage, t ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Early years

Tilley was born in

Bowmanville, Ontario Bowmanville is a town of approximately 40,000 people located in the Municipality of Clarington, Ontario, Clarington, Regional Municipality of Durham, Durham Region, Ontario, Canada. It is approximately east of Toronto, and east of Oshawa along ...

and graduated from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

in 1929. He opened a private practice in Toronto at the Toronto Western and Wellesley hospitals in 1935, and was one of the first physicians in Canada to train in plastic surgery.

Second World War

A member of the Canadian Army Medical Corps Militia, he was transferred to the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

(RCAF) Medical Branch at the start of the Second World War and became the Principal Medical Officer in 1941. In 1942, he worked at the

Queen Victoria Hospital The Queen Victoria Hospital (QVH), located in East Grinstead, West Sussex, England is the specialist reconstructive surgery centre for the south east of England, and also provides services at clinics across the region. It has become world-fam ...

with

Archibald McIndoe Sir Archibald Hector McIndoe (4 May 1900 – 11 April 1960) was a New Zealand plastic surgeon who worked for the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. He improved the treatment and rehabilitation of badly burned aircrew. Early life Archi ...

where burned airmen were treated. The patients called themselves the

Guinea Pig Club The Guinea Pig Club, established in 1941, was a social club and mutual support network for British and allied aircrew injured during World War II. Its membership was made up of patients of Archibald McIndoe in Ward III at Queen Victoria Hospit ...

. He was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1944 and was discharged from the RCAF with the rank of

Group Captain Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force, where it originated, as well as the air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. It is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank i ...

in 1945.

Post-war years

After the war, he returned to his practice in Toronto and

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between Toro ...

, where he was an assistant professor of surgery. Dr. Tilley was the first to teach plastic surgery at

Queen's University Queen's or Queens University may refer to: *Queen's University at Kingston, Ontario, Canada *Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK **Queen's University of Belfast (UK Parliament constituency) (1918–1950) **Queen's University of Belfast ...

. He was a charter member and a past president of the Canadian Society of Plastic Surgeons. In 1981, he was made a member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

. In 1982, he was made an honorary member of the

Canadian Medical Association The Canadian Medical Association (CMA; french: Association médicale canadienne, AMC) is a national, voluntary association of physicians and medical learners that advocates on national health matters. Its primary mandate is to drive positive ch ...

. In 2006, he was inducted into

Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame, based in The Hangar Flight Museum in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, commemorates and honours those whose accomplishments in aviation contributed so much to Canada's development as a nation. Founded in 1973, the Hall of ...

for "his exceptional skills and radical new medical techniques, his total devotion to the treatment of airmen's burns and reconstruction of deformities, his understanding of the need to treat both the body and the spirit, giving his patients the will and ability to reintegrate into society, have benefited Canada and the world." The Ross Tilley Burn Centre, currently located at the

Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre (SHSC), commonly known as Sunnybrook Hospital or simply Sunnybrook, is an academic health science centre An academic medical centre (AMC), variously also known as academic health science centre, academic healt ...

, was established in 1984 at the then Wellesley Hospital (since demolished) in downtown Toronto, is named in his honour. In 1998, as part of the Ontario government's healthcare restructuring, the Ross Tilley Burn Centre was moved from what had by then become the Wellesley Central site of St. Michaels' Hospital to the Sunnybrook campus of what was then Sunnybrook & Women's Health Sciences Centre. The Dr Ross Tilley Public School and the Dr. Ross Tilley YMCA and Day Care Centre in Bowmanville, Ontario, and the Ross Tilley Ward in the

, East Grinstead, are all named in his honour.

Honours and legacy

(1981) * Honorary member of the

(1982) *

(2006)

References

* Oswald, Mary, They Led the Way, Wetaskiwin: Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame, 1999. * Joseph Randolph Richard, "Incendo" CreateSpace 2015. .

External links

Hall of Fame siteDr. A. Ross Tilley FoundationUniversity of Toronto, Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, slide presentation about A. Ross Tilley
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tilley, A. Ross 1904 births 1988 deaths Canadian plastic surgeons Canadian military personnel of World War II Members of the Order of Canada Canadian Officers of the Order of the British Empire Academic staff of Queen's University at Kingston University of Toronto alumni Royal Canadian Air Force officers People from Clarington 20th-century Canadian physicians 20th-century surgeons